When Lori Moved In
by fuzzyfishbowl
Summary: How will Craig deal with his new foster sister, Lori?
1. Default Chapter

I guess you could call this a "Mary Sue" story. Whatever. Besides the  
  
"Mary Sue" charactor, all the other ones are the property of Degrassi.  
  
Although I don't know why I should even say that, they wouldn't sue me  
  
for writing a fanfiction story, right?  
  
On with it:  
  
Part One:  
  
One morning, Joey, Craig, and Angela were having a quick breakfast before  
  
they all went their separate ways: Craig to Degrassi Community School,   
  
Angela to Toronto West Elementary, and Joey to Jeremiah Motors. They were  
  
in a hurry that morning: the power had gone out the night before while they'd  
  
slept, making their alarm clocks useless.  
  
When the phone rang, they were putting on their coats (it was a bitterly  
  
cold day). "They'll leave a message, Ang," Joey said when Angela went to go  
  
pick it up. "Let's go."  
  
"Hi, this is the Jeremiah residence. If you want to leave a message for  
  
Joey, Angela, or Craig, leave a message after the beep," Joey's pre-recorded  
  
voice said. (BEEP).   
  
"Mr. Jeremiah, this is Cybil Lawson at the foster care agency. Good news:  
  
you've got your license. Just give me a ring after you-"  
  
Joey forgot that they were late as he ran back to get the phone. "Sorry,  
  
I'm here."  
  
"Oh, Mr. Jeremiah! How are you?"  
  
"Just fine. I got the license?"  
  
"Yes you did, and they already have a foster child waiting for you."  
  
Joey was very excited: ever since Craig's dad died, he'd wanted to get a  
  
foster care license to help other kids in Craig's situation, who weren't as  
  
lucky to have family to take care of them.  
  
"Well, can we work this out later? We're all in a hurry..."  
  
"Of course. Call me when you can. Have a good day."  
  
"You too, Ms. Lawson." Joey got off the phone. "YESSSSSSS."  
  
They all got into the car. After Joey had dropped off Angela, Craig asked:  
  
"Foster care license?"  
  
"Yeah," Joey said. "I wanted to keep it a secret, just in case it didn't work  
  
out." He was surprised it did, since he was a single parent.  
  
"Joey, you already have two kids to take care of," Craig pointed out. Joey  
  
couldn't help being disapointed. "I thought you'd like this idea. Not as many  
  
kids are as lucky as you..." He trailed off, not wanted to say any more about  
  
it and upset Craig.  
  
When he dropped him off at Degrassi, he said: "Craig, just try to keep an  
  
open mind about this."  
  
"I guess." And Craig walked away.  
  
Craig found Sean at his locker. "Dude, what's up?" Sean asked, seeing that Craig  
  
was upset.  
  
"Joey's a foster parent."  
  
"Oh, that's cool."  
  
"No, it's not." Craig sighed. "I mean, he's already got me and Angela to  
  
worry about. Why does he need more kids?"  
  
"I don't think it's a bad idea," Sean said. "I mean, my parents have threatened  
  
to put me in "the system" before. If it weren't for Tracker, I probably would  
  
be. If I ended up with a guy like Joey...well, I'd be lucky."  
  
"There's the word again," Craig said bitterly.  
  
"Huh?"   
  
"Nothing." Craig sighed again. "I'm gonna go find Ash. See you later, man."  
  
And he took off to find his girlfriend.  
  
Ashley was talking to Ellie by her locker, and smiled when her boyfriend  
  
came over. "Hey," she said, hugging him. She got a good look at his face. "What's  
  
the matter?"  
  
"Nothing," he lied. He couldn't tell her. She'll think I'm selfish, he thought.  
  
He knew that's what he was being: selfish.  
  
But he couldn't help it.  
  
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	2. Part 2

Part Two:  
  
That day, Joey spoke to Cybil Lawson about his first foster kid. "It's gonna  
  
be her first foster home, too," she said. "Her mother just died, and she has  
  
no family that wants to take her."  
  
Joey found out that the girl was named Lorilei Reid, and she was in grade  
  
nine, the grade under Craig. "She has good school records, and should do very  
  
well at Degrassi," Ms. Lawson said. "Her social worker will bring the rest   
  
of the information and her records tomorrow."  
  
That night, Joey talked to the kids about Lorilei coming to stay with them.  
  
"She'll stay in the guest room," Joey said, glad that they had one more  
  
avaliable. "She'll also be going to school with you, Craig, grade nine."  
  
"Cool," Craig said, playing with his food.  
  
"I'm gonna have a sister?" Angela asked excitedly. Craig couldn't help but  
  
smile. It must be tough for her to have only a dad and a brother, he thought.  
  
Maybe this won't be so bad, after all.  
  
The next day (Saturday), the social worker, Mrs. Benson, brought Lorilei  
  
to her foster home. Lorilei stared up at the house. It was pretty nice: a lot  
  
nicer then the rundown apartment she'd been living in with her mom, before  
  
she'd died of a herion overdose.  
  
"Come on, Lori," Mrs. Benson said. Lori rolled her eyes: she was sick of  
  
this woman, and was glad to get away from her. Even though I'm getting handed  
  
over to strangers, she thought.  
  
Even though Joey knew about Lori, Lori didn't know about him. She thought  
  
she'd be living with a family that had a Mom, Dad, two kids, and an annoying  
  
dog. She wasn't expecting widower Joey, his cute daughter Angela, and Angela's  
  
half-brother Craig, an orphan like her.  
  
Well, sorta. Lori's dad was very much alive. She'd never met him before.  
  
Lori grabbed her one suitcase, which contained her few pieces of clothing and  
  
some toiletrees, and a couple of her favorite books: "Little Women", and   
  
"To Kill a Mockingbird".   
  
Mrs. Benson seemed impatient to get the kid dropped off and head back to her  
  
perfect little home and family. Lori was glad to help. She almost dashed up  
  
to the porch and rang the doorbell.  
  
Joey answered the door, and saw the girl: short and pale, with wire-rim  
  
glasses (the foster department had just gotten her a new pair), short blond  
  
hair that was as pale as her skin, and old-looking clothing. "You must be  
  
Lorilei," he said, holding out his hand for a shake. Lori took it. "Lori,"  
  
she said.  
  
"I'm Joey. Come in," he said, letting her and Mrs. Benson step inside.  
  
Mrs. Benson practically dropped the papers and ran out: she only stayed for  
  
a minute or two, then left them at it.  
  
Angela was there in seconds. "Hi!" she said to the stranger. Lori smiled   
  
at the cute kid.   
  
"Ang, this is Lori. Lori, this is my daughter Angela."  
  
"Hi, Angela," Lori said. "Do you like to play with Barbies?"  
  
"Yeah! Will you play with me?"  
  
"After I put my stuff away. Would you like to help me?"  
  
Before Angela could answer, Craig appeared. "Lori, this is my stepson, Craig."  
  
"Hi," Lana said. Even though Craig was apprehensive about having her stay,  
  
he remembered his manners. He shook hands, just as Joey had, and offered to   
  
take her suitcase upstairs.  
  
Everyone showed her to her new room, which looked like...well, a guest room:  
  
plain, with old bedspread and curtains and plain furniture.   
  
"Is this all you've got?" Craig asked, looking at the one suitcase. Lori  
  
nodded, and they couldn't help but stare as she took out her few articles of  
  
battered clothing.  
  
"Tell you what," Joey said, "How about we go to the mall and get you some  
  
new things: bedspread, curtains, clothing-"  
  
"It's okay, Mr. Jeremiah," Lori said. "I know how "the system" works. I won't  
  
be here for long, anyway..."   
  
"Ang, Craig, you guys go on for a second," Joey said. "We'll be out in a   
  
second." When they were gone, Joey closed the door behind them. "Lori, you  
  
can call me Joey."  
  
"Um...okay..."  
  
"Also..." Joey said. "This is your first foster home, right? And you're my  
  
first foster kid. So let's say we forget about what we've heard about "the  
  
system" and do things our own way, okay? Just forget all about that..."  
  
Lori couldn't help but smile. "Thanks," she said.  
  
"So...mall?"  
  
"Yeah, that'll be fun."  
  
So Lori, Joey, Angela, and even Craig went to the mall to get Lori some   
  
new things. Joey nearly maxed out his credit card buying all new clothes for  
  
her, but he didn't care. After wearing second-hand clothes from Goodwill or  
  
church handouts for years, Lori was in bliss. She bought all sorts of   
  
cute clothes, not caring about style, but buying something of everything.  
  
Craig had a good time to talking to her, and he realized that Lori was just  
  
a nice girl. She is lucky to have Joey, he thought as she was buying some   
  
new clothes. This wasn't such a bad idea, after all.  
  
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	3. Part 3

Part Three:  
  
On Monday morning, Lori stood in front of the mirror in her new bedroom,  
  
wearing new clothes that Joey had bought for her. It was so surreal: how could  
  
my life change so quickly? she wondered.  
  
There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she called, unable to keep the  
  
shakiness out of here voice. She was so nervous.  
  
Craig stuck his head in. "Almost ready?"  
  
"Um, yeah."  
  
"Hey," he said with a smile, "Don't be worried. I'll show you around, intro-  
  
duce you to my friends..."  
  
"Thanks. I'll be down in a minute."  
  
Lori appreciated the offer, and was glad that this family was being so nice  
  
to her. It was a huge difference from the way things used to be...  
  
She shuddered and walked quickly out of the room. She couldn't think about  
  
it, not now. She was going to school.  
  
Everybody was in the kitchen, and they weren't in a hurry like they'd been  
  
on Friday. Lori sat down and ate some cereal and they all left.  
  
Joey dropped Lori and Craig off first, since Lori had to find her locker  
  
and stuff. "Good luck," Joey said. "I'll pick you guys up here after school."  
  
Lori had to go to Mr. Raditch's office to get her information, and Craig offered  
  
to wait outside for her.  
  
"I'll be fine," she insisted. "Go on, this school's not all that big, anyway..."  
  
Lori went to the office, and Craig went off to find his friends. He hadn't  
  
even spoken to Ashley since Friday, so nobody knew that anything in his life  
  
had changed.  
  
He found Ashley at her locker. "I can't talk now," she said. "I have to  
  
go to Mr. Raditch's office. I have to show a new girl around..."  
  
"Ash, that's the girl that Joey took in a foster child."  
  
"Really?" Ashley looked excited. "How is she?"  
  
Craig shrugged. "She's okay...nice. Grade nine, so I think I'm gonna find  
  
Sean and tell him about her."  
  
"Okay." Ashley hugged him. "Craig, this is so cool! I'm gonna be showing your  
  
foster sister around!"  
  
Craig didn't like the sound of those words, but he just smiled, and said, "See   
  
ya later," and went off to find Sean.  
  
Sean was, of course, at his locker. He was thinking, of course, about Emma.  
  
And, of course, Emma wasn't talking to him.  
  
"Man, that girl just isn't one to forgive and forget," Craig observed. Sean  
  
nodded sadly. "Hey, cheer up, man. Joey took in a foster kid, and you have  
  
to help her in school today."  
  
Craig told Sean about Lori, and he said he'd help her out. "Although I'm really  
  
not the best person to ask, unless you want this girl to be a freak like me..."   
  
"Man, you seriously have to get over Emma."  
  
When the bell rang, Sean headed to homeroom. This year, they had Mr. Simpson  
  
again. He saw Emma, and wanted to go over to her, but she was with Manny. When  
  
she spotted him, she turned her head away.  
  
Then Sean saw a girl talking to Ashley outside the M.I. lab. The girl was  
  
short, with pale hair and glasses. Not as cute as some girls, but then again,  
  
Sean thought, cute girls are over rated.  
  
He went over to them. "Sean," Ashley said, "I'm so glad you're here! This  
  
is Lori."  
  
"Hi," the girl said shyly. Sean smiled. "Take care of her," Ashley said, and  
  
left. Lori rolled her eyes.  
  
"I don't need to be taken care of." With that, she walked into the room. Sean  
  
looked as she walked away. Suddenly, Emma was off his mind...  
  
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	4. Part 4

Part Four:  
  
Emma couldn't help but watch them at lunch. Who was that girl, and what was she  
  
doing with Sean?  
  
"Em. Em? EMMA!"  
  
Emma was snapped out of her little dream world by Manny. "What's up wtih you,  
  
Em?"  
  
"Nothing," Emma lied, digging into her lunch and trying to forget the two  
  
of them, talking and laughing together.  
  
After school, Craig and Lori waited for Joey, and Lori talked about Sean.  
  
"He's so nice, and he helped me out a lot today," she said. Craig nodded politely  
  
at first, but she kept going on and on. Okay, he wanted to say, enough about   
  
Sean already.  
  
"Your girlfriend Ashley is really nice, too. How long have you been going  
  
out for?" she asked.  
  
Finally, something un-Sean related: "About five months."  
  
Joey pulled up, and they got in. Lori said that her day had been "fine" and  
  
didn't go into the same detail as Craig had.  
  
Joey told her that while he and Craig worked at the car lot, she was going  
  
to watch Angela. Lori didn't mind, and liked little kids.  
  
They picked up Angela, and headed back to their house. And who was sitting  
  
on the front porch but Emma.  
  
"Oh, man," Joey moaned. He got out.  
  
Emma saw the same girl Sean had been talking to in the back of Joey's car.  
  
What the hell was going on?  
  
Joey went over and explained to Emma that she didn't need her to watch Angela  
  
anymore. "I'm a foster parent now, and my foster daughter will watch her. I   
  
told your mother..."  
  
Emma acted gracious to Joey, pretending that she wasn't at all hurt by this.  
  
As she was walking home, she comforted with all the information she knew about  
  
"the system". This girl, who was causing these problems in her life, would be  
  
gone soon: foster kids never last in a home very long, she told herself.  
  
Lori had a good time watching Angela. She'd never had a sibling before: her  
  
mom had been pregnaut after her, but had always gotten abortions. She would also  
  
tell her only child: "You were a mistake. I wish I'd never had you! Your father  
  
would never have run off if it weren't for you. My life would be so much better.  
  
The mess I'm in is all your fault." Your fault, your fault, your fault. Lori  
  
was always blamed for everything.  
  
When her mother had died, Lori had been sad, but happy, too. She was also  
  
scared: who would she live with? Her grandmother didn't even know about her,  
  
and never talked to her daughter anymore. Her mother had no siblings (that she  
  
knew of, at least), and her father had never known her. The only person left  
  
for her was her mother's boyfriend Greg...  
  
Lori shuddered at the thought. She was so relieved when a caring neighbor  
  
called social services right after her mom had died. They'd taken her away, and  
  
told her they were going to put her in foster care. "You'll be safe, now," the  
  
kind man had told her.  
  
Lori knew he wasn't lying, but since she'd arrived at Joey's she'd push her  
  
dresser in front of the door, and remove it in the morning. She knew that neither  
  
Joey or Craig would hurt her, but...you can never be too careful.  
  
Over the next week, Craig saw that Sean and Lori hung out more and more.  
  
At first he'd been relieved: she's making friends, he thought.  
  
But suddenly, they were hanging out too much, in his opinion. He watched  
  
as they walked down the hall together, and he couldn't help wondering: what's   
  
going on between them?  
  
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	5. Part 5

Part Five:  
  
One day after school, Lori was alone in the house. Angela was over at a  
  
neighbor's house. The lady across the street and her little daughter asked  
  
her to come over. "Do you need me to come and watch them?" Lori asked politely,  
  
not really wanting to.  
  
"Oh, no, dear. I've got it. I'll have her home by five." And then they were  
  
gone.  
  
Lori had called Sean up, and was now waiting for him to come over. She had  
  
fixed herself up. She really liked him, but they weren't a "couple" yet. Who  
  
the hell cares? she thought. He's a great kisser, and he's cute and sweet. That's  
  
all I care about.  
  
Sean came over a little while later. "Sorry," he said. "Tracker needed some  
  
help on his bike."  
  
"No problem," Lori said. She checked the hall clock as she let him in: it was  
  
only four. They had at least an hour.  
  
They sat talking at first. Then, one thing sorta led to another...and he was  
  
lying on top of her on the couch. Lori liked it at first...he was being so sexy!  
  
But then horrible memories came flooding back to her, and she pushed him off.  
  
"Lori? What's the matter?"  
  
"I, um..." Should I tell him? she thought. "...think we're going too fast."  
  
"Shit," Sean hissed. "I knew it. I'm sorry, Lori..."  
  
"It's just that...we're not even going out yet," she said. She was biting her  
  
thumbnail, a nervous old habit that she used to do a lot...  
  
"Well..." Sean said. "Yeah, you're right. Too fast." He looked so guilty.  
  
Suddenly, in spite of herself, Lori spilled the whole story. She didn't want  
  
Sean to feel so bad. She found herself crying by the end, and Sean put his  
  
arms around her. He didn't know what to say...as "street tough" as he tried  
  
to be, he'd never come across something like this. He realized what a fake  
  
he was. I thought I had problems, he thought.  
  
Before five, Sean left. He gave Lori a small kiss on the lips, remembering'  
  
everything she'd said.  
  
"Sean? Please don't be freaked out..."  
  
"I'm not," he lied. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lori..."  
  
All evening, Lori wished she'd never told him. Now he's going to be afraid  
  
of me, she thought sadly.  
  
Craig noticed how upset Lori was. What was wrong with her? Is it Sean? he   
  
thought. He could tell by now that something was going on between them. The  
  
question was, how serious was it?  
  
After dinner, he decided to ask.  
  
He knocked on Lori door. Since it wasn't too late yet, she hadn't pushed the  
  
dresser in front of the door. "Come in," she said. Craig poked his head in  
  
to find Lori sitting at her desk, trying to do her math homework. "Trying"  
  
being the operative word: she'd only done two problems in ten minutes.  
  
"Are you okay, Lor?" he asked, coming in and sitting on her bed. She was surprised  
  
by his bluntness.   
  
"Um...yeah. Just fine. Why?"  
  
"Well..." Craig grouped for the right words. Screw it: "Is something going on  
  
between you and Sean?"  
  
Lori cringed, and hoped Craig didn't see it. "Um...no. We're just friends, Craig."  
  
"Oh." Craig continued: "Well, he'd just gotten out of a relationship when you  
  
came along..."  
  
"I know," she said. "We talked about it. Emma."  
  
"Yeah," Craig said. "Well, I was just hoping that he wasn't, you know, using  
  
you to make her jealous or something..." Why the hell did I say that? he thought.  
  
Lori got defensive. "Yeah, it's a good thing we're just friends then."  
  
"Lor, I didn't mean it like that..."  
  
"Craig, just learn how to mind your own fucking business, okay?" Lori knew  
  
she wasn't covering up her feelings for Sean too well, but she couldn't help it.  
  
"Fine," Craig said, getting up. "But if you get hurt, don't come crying to  
  
me."  
  
"Why would I? You're not my brother."  
  
Craig walked out without another word. He'd left the door open. Lori stood  
  
up and slammed it. Then she sat down in front of it, sighing and fuming.  
  
Please read and review. All reviews welcome, even flames. Thanks. 


	6. Part 6

Part Six:  
  
Lori and Sean remained "friends with benefits" for awhile. They didn't make  
  
out as heavily as they had before, and the "friends" outweighed the "benefits",  
  
to Lori's disapointment.  
  
One day, when Angie was playing at a friend's house again, she invited him over.  
  
She hadn't done that since she'd told him about...  
  
When he came over, he just wanted to watch TV. But Lori clicked it off. "Sean,"  
  
she said. "I think I'm ready to go a little further..."  
  
"Are you sure?" Sean said, hoping it was true. Lori nodded, took his hand,  
  
and led him up to her room. She never thought she'd be doing this...but Sean  
  
won't hurt me, she thought.  
  
"If you don't want to, just let me know..." Sean said carefully. Lori put a   
  
finger to his lips and turned on her new stereo.   
  
Before they knew it, Sean was on top of Lori, kissing and fondling her. They  
  
didn't go too far: neither of them was ready for sex, and they didn't even  
  
get to "third base". Maybe they would've...  
  
If Craig didn't walk in on them.  
  
"What the fuck?" he demanded. Sean stood up quickly. He'd hand his hand up  
  
Lori's shirt. Lori pulled her shirt down and saw Craig pull Sean off. "Get the  
  
fuck out, man," he screamed, shoving Sean out the door. He slammed the door shut  
  
and turned on Lori. "What the hell were you thinking?!"  
  
"Craig, what the hell are you doing here?" she demanded. He was supposed to be  
  
at work!  
  
"What the fuck does that matter? You're in here, letting Sean feel you up..."  
  
Craig was fuming. What if he hadn't have showed up? What would he have done to   
  
her?  
  
"Craig, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."  
  
"And you were doing this while you're supposed to be watching my little sister!  
  
Where is she?" Craig opened the door. "Ang? Angela!"  
  
"Craig, shut up. She's at the neighbor's."  
  
Craig turned around and started yelling at her again. "I can't believe you!  
  
As soon as you're alone in the house, you start-"  
  
"Craig, shut the fuck up!" Lori yelled.  
  
Craig sat down, and put his head in his hands. Lori felt bad for yelling. He's   
  
just concerned about me, she thought.  
  
"Craig," she said softly, "It's okay. I told him. He knows."  
  
Craig looked at her. "Knows what?"  
  
Oh, shit! "Joey never told you?" Craig shook his head, and Lori sighed. "Well,  
  
it's nothing..."  
  
"Lori, tell me. What's going on? What do Joey and Sean know?"  
  
Lori sighed. "Look, you wouldn't understand, you've never had any problems like  
  
this..."  
  
"Lori, my dad used to beat me up. I know problems. You can trust me..."  
  
"Okay," Lori said. She took a deep breath. "My mom had a drug problem, right?  
  
Well, she and her boyfriend would do drugs every night. Usually my mom did  
  
enough to pass out, but...he sometimes didn't. And when my mom was knocked out...  
  
he would come into my room and rape me."  
  
"What?"  
  
Lori nodded. Oh, God, the tears again. "He did it to me ever since he and my  
  
mom began seeing each other. I tried to tell her, but she didn't even care, Craig.  
  
My own mother."  
  
"Lori, I'm..." but Craig, like Sean, was lost for words. He hugged her, like  
  
Sean had done.   
  
Lori smiled at him. "I thought you knew, and that's why you didn't want me to  
  
see Sean."  
  
Craig sighed. "Lori, I don't want you to see Sean because..." Why didn't he want  
  
her to see Sean. It's not that I'm jealous or anything...am I?  
  
Lori didn't ask him to continue his explaination. Had she guessed? No, that's   
  
insane. I'm with Ashley now. I like Ashley, a lot. Why should I be jealous of   
  
Lori and Sean? Lori's practically my sister!  
  
But the more Craig tried to reassure himself, the more he knew that he was   
  
lying to himself.  
  
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	7. Part 7

Part Seven:  
  
Lori and Sean were a "couple" for a month or so when the dance was announced.  
  
Winter semi-formal, senior high only.  
  
Craig was, of course, planning to take Ashley. Beautiful, smart, talented  
  
Ashley...but he was still thinking about Lori.  
  
Stop it. STOP IT!!! But he couldn't.  
  
Lori couldn't wait to go shopping for a dress, but there was one problem:  
  
she didn't have anyone to go with her. She had a feeling that Joey and Craig  
  
didn't want to spend the afternoon at a mall looking at girls' formal wear,  
  
and what kind of help would little Angela be? So when Ashley offered to take  
  
her shopping with her mom, Lori was quick to accept.  
  
They spent the day at the mall with Kate. Joey had given Lori $200 to find  
  
a nice dress, shoes, and accessories. Lori was grateful, and she didn't want  
  
to spend all the money, so she searched the sales racks for her dress. Ashley  
  
found hers right away: a long, black (shock!) dress, with silver shimmers.  
  
But Lori's was harder to find. She found a nice red one for $40, but she thought  
  
it made her ass look big. She found a black one that was shorter, sexier then  
  
Ashley's, but she didn't have the boobs to work it.  
  
After a couple of hours, Lori was ready to give up. She didn't want to waste  
  
any more of Kate and Ashley's time: they seemed happy to help, but who knew  
  
what they were really thinking?  
  
At the fifth store, Kate was helping Lori look when she said, "Girls! Look at  
  
this one!" Lori and Ashley rushed over, to see Kate holding up a long, midnight  
  
blue dress with rhinestones. "It's only $55. What do you think, Lor?"  
  
Lori knew it was perfect, but she wanted to try it on to be sure. And it was  
  
perfect. Kate and Ashley seemed in awe as she modeled for them. "Oh, Lori..."  
  
Ashley said. "It's perfect." Kate agreed: "Perfect."  
  
Since it was unanimous, Lori bought the dress, and some matching shoes for  
  
$30. Joey will be surprised when he sees that I have more then half of his  
  
money left! she thought happily as they left the mall.  
  
Kate took Lori home, and Lori carefully hung her dress in her closet. Things  
  
in her life right then were the same as her dress: perfect.  
  
Until the night of the dance.  
  
It was a cold night. A little snow, but mostly just a cold chill in the air.  
  
When the two couples of Ashley-Craig, Sean-Lori were dropped off by Kate and  
  
walking into the school, Lori shivered. A bad omen, she thought.  
  
Quit being stupid, she scolded herself. Have fun!  
  
Sean was having a good time. Lori looked beautiful in her dress. But what about  
  
Emma? He'd seen her when they'd walked in. She'd gone to the dance with a  
  
grade nine boy named Travis Stevens. Sean couldn't help but be jealous when  
  
he saw Emma dance with him. Even when he looked at his gorgeous date, he  
  
was still thinking about Emma.  
  
At one slow dance, Sean said to Lori: "Do you mind if I dance with Emma? It  
  
looks like her date abandoned her for this one?"  
  
"Sure," Lori said with a smile. She went off to get some punch.  
  
Sean went over to Emma, who was sitting by herself on the side. He sat down  
  
in the chair next to her. "Hi, Em," he said. Emma couldn't help smiling at  
  
him. He looked weird all dressed up in a button down shirt and black pants.  
  
"Hi, Sean," she said in a friendly voice, in spite of herself.  
  
"So...where's your date?"  
  
Emma shrugged. "Bathroom. Yours?"  
  
"Punch break," he lied, not mentioning that he'd asked her away. "So...  
  
you want to dance this one with me?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Sean and Emma danced together, and she said, "How are things going with you  
  
and Lori?"  
  
"Great," he lied. "She's a great girl." He wasn't lying about that. "Yeah,  
  
really great."  
  
"Oh," Emma said, somewhat disapointed. She didn't seem to notice that he'd  
  
said "great" three times. She'd believed him. "That's...great."  
  
"She is," Sean said, for the fourth time. Shut up with that! he told himself.  
  
"But...we're just going out for fun."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah," Sean said. "I don't really see it turning into anything serious, you  
  
know?"  
  
Emma nodded. "Like me and Travis. He's nice and all, but...I can't see myself  
  
with him down the line."  
  
There was an akward silence. Then Emma admitted her deepest secret: "Sean,  
  
I miss you."  
  
"Really?" Sean whispered, noticing the tears in her eyes. Emma nodded, and he  
  
said, "I miss you, too."  
  
And they kissed. It was just like at the wedding: they both saw sparks. It  
  
was magical.  
  
But Lori didn't think it was so magical. She saw them, as she came back from  
  
the snack table. They didn't see her as she nearly dropped her drink and ran  
  
out.  
  
But Craig did.  
  
Read and review, thanks. 


	8. Part 8

Part Eight:  
  
Ashley was in the bathroom with Ellie, so Craig went after Lori. He found  
  
her sitting outside on the steps. She wasn't crying, but she looked upset  
  
and cold.  
  
"Lor? Are you okay?"  
  
Lori turned and looked up at him. "Craig, I...wish I'd listened to you."  
  
Craig sat down next to her and sighed. "Lor, don't say that..."  
  
"Why? You were right, you know." Lori turned away. "So, go ahead. Do your  
  
"I told ya so" dance or something."  
  
"I don't have one. The truth is, I'm not right that often." Lori smiled at  
  
him.   
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
"Hey!" Lori giggled. She was lightening up. But she sighed again and said,   
  
"I think I'm gonna just walk home now."  
  
"You can't! It's freezing out here! Look at yourself, you're already freezing!"  
  
"It's not that cold. Just go back inside, I'll see you in a few hours."  
  
"Well, if you're leaving, I'll walk you."  
  
"No, Craig," Lori said. "Look, it's only a few blocks. And what about Ashley?"  
  
"She'll survive."  
  
Lori didn't make her move to leave. She said, "I can't believe he would do that  
  
to me."  
  
"I'm gonna kick his ass..."  
  
"Let it go," she said. "I...remember looking at a picture of the two of us,  
  
that we took at the mall recently, and...I remember thinking that we don't  
  
really look like a couple."  
  
"Lor-"  
  
"And when I see them together, it...fits. So I'm okay with it, I really am."  
  
Then Craig saw a tear roll down her face.  
  
"Are you really?"  
  
"No, not really."  
  
Craig brushed away the tear. "I'm sorry that this happened to you."   
  
"No, it's my fault, I was a fool."  
  
Craig didn't move his finger from her face. She looked him in the eyes, and  
  
then they were kissing.  
  
For about a second.  
  
They quickly pulled apart. "Holy shit," Lori whispered. "Sorry, I-"  
  
"Don't worry about it," Craig said, standing up. "I thought I...liked you."  
  
"I guess I thought I liked you, too."  
  
Craig shook his head, smiling. "We're practically brother and sister now,  
  
you know? So..."  
  
"...it's kinda gross," she said, laughing.  
  
"Um..." Craig said, uncomfortable. "So we agree? The kiss wasn't right?"  
  
"No, definatly the total opposite of right," Lori said, standing up, too.  
  
"So...let's not tell anyone? Especially Ashley."  
  
As if on cue, Ashley appeared. "Craig? Lori? What happened?"  
  
Lori smiled sadly. "Sean and I sorta, unofficially, broke up. I saw him kissing  
  
Emma."  
  
"Oh, hon, I'm sorry." Ashley hugged her. "It must be hard to lose such a good  
  
kisser."  
  
"Oh yeah, you would know!" Lori said, laughing. Ashley had told her about  
  
making out with Sean when she was high.  
  
"Hey!" Craig said to his girlfriend, "What about me?"  
  
"Who?" Ashley said, and the girls laughed. Lori said, "I'm leaving now, so  
  
you kids have fun."  
  
"No wait," Ashley said. "I'm sorta done, too." She turned to Craig.  
  
"Hey, I was done the second we walked in the door."  
  
Craig and Ashley dropped Lori off before Craig walked Ashley home by himself. Craig   
  
felt guilty about keeping a secret from Ashley, so when they got to her house,  
  
he spilled the whole thing. Ashley listened silently, and when he was done,  
  
she said, "Is that all? You kissed her?"  
  
"You mean...you're not upset?"  
  
"No," Ashley said. "It's not a big deal, Craig. You didn't have feelings  
  
for her."  
  
Craig nodded and smiled. "Thanks for understanding."  
  
They kissed goodnight, and Craig walked home. He thought about how happy he  
  
was: he still cared about Ashley, and everything was okay between him and Lori.  
  
But he felt bad that things hadn't worked out so well for her...  
  
Read and review, thanks! 


	9. Part 9

Part Nine:  
  
Things went on okay with Craig and Ashley. They never mentioned him  
  
kissing Lori again. Meanwhile, Lori and Sean had talked the day after  
  
the dance, and decided to be "just friends". But Lori still felt hostile  
  
towards Emma.  
  
One day, Craig and Lori got a message at school: they were to walk home.  
  
No big deal: it wasn't like it was that far or anything. But what was going  
  
on? Was Angela okay?  
  
When they got home that afternoon, Joey's car was in the driveway. Wasn't he  
  
going to work? There was also a beat-up, old brown van. It looked pretty shabby,  
  
especially next to Joey's nice convertable.  
  
"What's going on?" Craig wondered aloud. He and Lori went in, and found Joey  
  
sitting in the living room, talking to someone. Joey looked up as the kids  
  
came in, and the man turned around. He was sort of dirty-looking, and he had  
  
a shaggy beard and an unclean face. His eyes sort of had a blank look to them.  
  
Craig had no idea who this man was. He looked at Lori. Her face had turned grey.  
  
She knew who this man was. She'd seen his picture, millions of times. In them,  
  
he was clean-shaven, young, and bright-eyed. Though this man was anything but  
  
clean, young, or lively, she knew who he was without a doubt.  
  
Her father.  
  
Lori ran up the stairs and to her room. She slammed the door and sat on her bed,  
  
stunned. What the hell did he want? She'd never met him in her life, and here  
  
he was, just months after her mother died. How had he found her?  
  
There was a knock on the door. "Go away!" she yelled, thinking it was Joey, coming  
  
to scold her for being rude to guests.  
  
"Lor? It's me." Craig.   
  
"Come in."  
  
Craig came in. "Joey told me. That man...your father-"  
  
"He's no father to me." Lori words came out so vicious and cold that Craig almost  
  
stepped back. But he had a message to deliver.  
  
"He wants to talk to you."  
  
"I don't care," Lori said with a slight laugh. "He's never even sent me a damn  
  
birthday card in fifteen years. Now he wants to talk? He can forget it."  
  
"Lori, he..." But Craig couldn't say it. Even if this guy was her father, he'd never  
  
done anything for her. At least I'd had a father, even though he was a fucking asshole,  
  
he thought.  
  
Lori sighed. "I'm curious. I'll go down there." She must have seen the look on Craig's  
  
face.  
  
They walked down the stairs together. Lori saw the man...her father...stand up. She   
  
wouldn't look him in the face as she muttered, "I had to drop my stuff off."  
  
Joey cleared his throat. "Um, Craig? Will you drive the car to go pick up Angela?" Even  
  
though he didn't have his license yet, this was an emergency.  
  
"Yeah!" Craig got the keys to the convertable from Joey and ran out the door.  
  
An akward silence followed. "Lori," Joey began. "This is-"  
  
"I know," she cut in quickly. She finally looked at the man, who was giving her  
  
an anxious look. "My...father." She could fell her eyes fill with tears. In spite of   
  
herself, she looked into his eyes. "I've never even met you before. What do you want?"  
  
The man looked discouraged, but he said, in a deep, raspy voice, "I heard about your  
  
mother. I'm sorry."  
  
"I'll bet," Lori muttered sarcastically. Joey shot her a look, and she said, "How did   
  
you find me?"  
  
"The agency gave me this address. I just wanted to see you, to see if...you were okay."  
  
"Why? You never gave a shit about me before!"  
  
"Lorilei!" Joey yelled.  
  
Lori sprang to her feet, ignoring her foster parent's warning. "I never heard from you  
  
my whole life. You didn't care that me and Mom were living in shit, that we were barely  
  
making it-"  
  
"You don't understand," her father said desperatly. "I had to leave. It was the best   
  
thing."  
  
"Mom told me all my life that I had ruined hers by being born. That I was the reason you  
  
left."  
  
"That's not true," he said. "I...didn't even know about you until a couple of months  
  
ago."  
  
A silence filled the room.Lori sat dwon. She couldn't believe it. Lies. That's all her mother had  
  
ever told her. The whore didn't even tell him about me! she thought angrily. "You didn't..."  
  
"Your mother and I broke up, I guess right after she got pregnaut with you," he said.   
  
"She may not have even known she was pregnaut until afterwards. I'm sorry, Lorilei, I really  
  
am."  
  
"Yeah?" she demanded. She stood up again. "Well, that didn't save my mother's life, now  
  
did it?" And with that, she went up to her room.  
  
The van was gone a few minutes later.  
  
Joey came up to her room. "Lori?" he asked as he knocked. "Can we talk?"  
  
Lori opened the door. "Please, Joey, I don't want lectures..."  
  
"I'm not here to lecture you," he said. "Let me in. I just want to talk to you."  
  
"Okay," she said, warily. She let him in, and they sat on the bed.  
  
"Lor," he said. "I'm sorry about that..."  
  
"It's okay," Lori said. She didn't want him to feel bad. "I'm not bitter with him anymore.  
  
And I'm glad that I know the truth."  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
Lori sighed. "Maybe."  
  
Joey hugged him foster daughter. "It'll be okay, Lor. You've been through a lot."  
  
"Things are a lot better now, Joey," she assured him. "You and Angela and Craig...you're all the  
  
family I never had."  
  
But was everything really okay? Or was everything about to fall apart?  
  
Read and review! Thanks! 


	10. Part 10

Part Ten:  
  
Whenever Lori saw Emma and Sean together at school, she tried to smile and wave. But she was filling with rage.  
  
She tried to pretend like everything was cool. She hung out with her friends, even flirted with some older guys. But she would see them together, and want to explode.  
  
Everything came to a head one afternoon, when Emma was hurrying to meet Liberty about the Grapevine. She rounded a corner...and ran right into Lori.  
  
"Watch it!" Lori yelled as her books flew out of her hand. Emma's did, too.  
  
"Sorry, sorry," Emma said quickly, trying to help pick up the books. She was off again, but Lori grabbed her arm.  
  
"You have my math book," she said, her face flushed with anger. "Who do you think you are, always stealing what's mine?" Emma didn't catch the true meaning of the comment: she rolled her eyes and handed the book back.  
  
"Sorry, thought it was mine."  
  
"Right, just like you thought Sean was yours, right?"  
  
Emma, who'd turned away again, turned back around. "What does Sean have to do with anything?"  
  
"He has to do with everything," Lori said, her blood boiling as she spoke. "You stole him from me, right under my nose."  
  
"I thought you were-"  
  
"I'm so not okay with it," Lori informed her. "And I think I need to do something to make you pay. How about we step outside, Nelson? Come on, are you scared?"  
  
"Fighting is so dumb," Emma said, rolling her eyes and turning away again. Lori dashed over and cut her off.  
  
"Don't call me dumb, bitch," Lori said with a snear. "I'm gonna kick your ass...now!" Lori grabbed Emma by the arm and dragged her to the alley beside the school. Everyone stopped to watch as Emma strugged, but the other girl was too strong.  
  
"Fight, fight!" they chanted. Lori pushed Emma away when they reached the alley. "Come on, Emma," she said, dropping her books. "Everyone thinks you're not half the woman I am. Try to prove them wrong. Fight for you man."  
  
"Come on, Lori, let's talk about this," Emma said desperately. Lori knocked her books out of her arms. The crowd roared its approval.  
  
"No talk, Emma. We all know you're good at that," she said. With that, she shoved Emma to the ground. Everyone cheered as she got on top of her and raised her fist. Emma stared up at Lori with a frightened expression.  
  
It all happened in a flash. Lori couldn't punch Emma. She looked down on her, so scared, and remembered: the heavy man on top of her, punching her in the face as he pulled her pants down. "No!" she'd screamed. Punch.   
  
Craig suddenly appeared, and grabbed Lori from behind, pulling her off Emma. Lori was sobbing by now, and Emma sat up, in shock.  
  
"Everyone, get the fuck outta here!" Craig yelled. "Show's over!"  
  
Lori sobbed as her foster brother hugged her. "Craig, what've I done?"  
  
"You didn't hit her, Lor. That's all that matters. You didn't hit her."  
  
"When she looked at me, so scared, I remembered..." she couldn't go on. She sobbed out, "I hate my mother."  
  
That night, Lori was very upset. She couldn't eat, she stayed in her room. What would everyone at school say when they found out how she freaked out?  
  
The next day, Emma went up to Lori cautiously. "Lori?"  
  
Lori, who'd been at her locker, turned to face her. "Oh, Emma, I'm so-"  
  
Emma put up her hand to stop her. "It's okay. I forgive you. I just hope...you'll forgive me."  
  
Lori nodded. "It was just...I was upset about some other stuff."  
  
"I know." And Emma walked away.  
  
As Lori watched Emma walk away, she spotted her foster brother standing at the end of the hall. She gave him a small wave, which he returned. She turned back to her locker and sighed.  
  
If she could keep her cool, she knew that everything would be okay, after all.  
  
The End.  
  
That's it! Read and review. Thanks! 


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